Auditors say Chippewa Cree can't account for $3.5 million

By MATTHEW BROWN

Associated Press

BILLINGS, — The Chippewa Cree Tribe at Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs can’t fully account for $3.5 million primarily in federal funds, including money for a corruption-plagued water project that’s resulted in numerous convictions, according to government audits and federal officials.

The audits by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S Department of Interior examined $3.7 million for Chippewa Cree Tribe transportation programs and a $2 million contract for repairs and maintenance of the tribal water system.

In both cases, t...